Meringue - General Cooking Principles
Meringue is an amazingly delicate treat that appeared around the seventeenth century in Switzerland. According to legend, the Italian master cook Gasparini, who arrived in the country, opened his pastry shop in Meiring and made extraordinary sweet cakes called “kisses” (“meringues”). These cakes glorified the masters and became famous first in Meiring, then in the whole of Switzerland, and after they conquered the world.
In fact, make meringue is very easy. The basis of the dessert are eggs (protein) and sugar, as well as some additives designed to improve or change the taste of the finished product.
Meringue - preparing food and tableware
Meringue - dessert is very gentle and the most low-calorie of all sweets. It can be eaten in moderation even for dieters.
Despite the fact that it is very simple to cook meringue, there are a few tricks without which the dessert may fail.
So follow these rules:
- You need to beat the egg with sugar in a copper bowl or a bowl of other metal so that the heat is distributed evenly. Dishes must be completely clean.
- Eggs for cooking meringue must be fresh. If you know that the egg is not completely fresh, then instead of sugar it would be more appropriate to use powdered sugar.
- When whipping proteins, add sugar (or caster sugar) very slowly, in a thin stream.
- Beat with a blender (or mixer) at an average speed of about 5-8 minutes.
- You need to bake in the oven at an average temperature of 120-140 degrees.
Meringue Recipes:
Recipe 1: Meringue
If you make dessert according to this recipe, you will almost perfectly recreate the Swiss famous meringue. The secret of the “Swiss technology” is that the meringue needs to be whipped over the steam bath. In this way, proteins will beat up as evenly as possible. The proportions of such meringue are 200 grams of sugar per 1 egg white. Dessert get very sweet, almost cloying. If you are on a diet, then you should better give up such meringues in favor of other recipes. Ingredients Required:
- Proteins (from fresh eggs) - 3 pieces
- Sugar - 600 grams
Preparation:
- Lower the protein in a metal container. Begin to beat them with a mixer, gradually pouring out half of the sugar to them. Pour sugar to a thin stream.
- Put a bowl of squirrels in a pan of boiling water and continue to beat with a mixer at medium speed. Add the remaining sugar.
- Remove the protein container and beat another 3 minutes at medium speed until the proteins have cooled.
- Bake the meringue in the oven at 120 degrees for about 50 minutes. After turning off the heat, let the dessert harden and cool.
“Swiss-style” meringue is very sweet, and therefore dessert is best served with sour berries and fruits.
Recipe 2: Nighttime Meringue
For this recipe, you'll need a mixture of sugar and powdered sugar, as well as some lemon juice. The resulting meringue will have a pleasant sourish flavor and will not be very cloying. The name of this dessert is due to the fact that the meringue will need to be left for the night in the oven to harden.
Ingredients Required:
- 4 proteins (from fresh eggs)
- Sugar 100 grams
- Sugar powder 200 grams
- Lemon juice - half a teaspoon
Preparation:
- Sift icing sugar through a sieve, add sugar to it and mix.
- Turn on the warm up oven. Temperature - 120 degrees
- Beat the whites with a mixer at high speed for about 4 minutes. Add half a teaspoon of lemon juice and a fourth of the mixture of sugar and powdered sugar to proteins. Beat with a mixer for 2 minutes at medium speed.
- Add the remaining sugar gradually to the mixture and beat for about 4 minutes.
- Cover the baking sheet with paper, put a spoon on it or with a meringue pastry bag, bake for an hour.
- Turn off the oven, but do not reach the meringues. Leave them in the oven overnight. In the morning, find the finished dry delicacy.
Recipe 3: Cranberry Meringue
Sweet and sour meringue of soft pink color will serve as an independent dish, as well as an addition to any dessert.
Ingredients Required:
- Proteins from fresh eggs 4 pieces
- Sugar powder 1,5 glasses
- Cranberries 0.5 glasses
- Lemon juice 1/2 tsp
Preparation:
- Beat the whites with a mixer at an average speed of about 4 minutes.
- Sift icing sugar through a sieve.
- Gradually add sugar powder and lemon juice to the protein foam.
- Wash cranberries, mash. Squeeze the cranberry juice, and add the marc to the proteins. Continue to beat with a mixer for about 3-4 minutes.
- Heat the oven to 120 degrees.
- Cover the baking sheet with paper, spoon or pastry syringe and place the meringue on the paper.
- Bake dessert for about 50 minutes without closing the oven door.
Recipe 4: Coconut Meringue
Recipe for coconut meringue is simple and easy to perform, but the finished dessert will have a very exotic taste.
Ingredients Required:
- Proteins from fresh eggs 4 pieces
- Sugar powder 100 grams
- Sugar 200 grams
- Coconut 50 grams
- Vanilla
Preparation:
- Sift icing sugar through a sieve.
- Protein from eggs should be whipped at an average speed of about 3 minutes.
- Add powdered sugar to the foam in a thin stream, beat for 3 minutes.
- Add sugar to the protein mass, also in a thin stream, beat one or two minutes.
- Pour the coconut and vanilla into the mixture, stir well.
- Preheat oven to 120 degrees.
- On a baking sheet covered with parchment, place meringue with a spoon or syringe. Bake dessert for about 50 minutes. Cool before serving.
Recipe 5: Brownies
You can prepare the most delicate dessert, if you add chopped nuts to the protein mass. You can use any kind of nuts or their mixture. In addition, in this meringue can add rum essence. Ingredients Required:
- Protein from fresh eggs 4 pieces
- Sugar powder 200 grams
- A pinch of salt
- Walnut 50 grams
- Almond Walnut 50 grams
Preparation:
- Grind the nuts using a blender or meat grinder.
- Sift icing sugar through a sieve.
- Start chipping the protein, adding a pinch of salt to it.
- Without switching off the mixer, add sugar and nut mass to the protein foam gradually.
- Preheat oven to 140 degrees.
- Make a baking sheet with parchment. Put meringue on a parchment using a spoon or pastry syringe. Bake the dessert for about 50 minutes without closing the oven door.
Recipe 6: Apple meringue pie
If you like charlotte, then such a meringue pie will certainly enjoy, because it is based on apples. This meringue pie will turn out with an appetizing baked crust and an aromatic soft apple filling in the middle.
Ingredients Required:
- Flour 1 glass
- Sugar 150 grams
- Butter 100 grams
- Fresh eggs 2 pieces
- Sweet apples 3 pieces
- Milk 100 ml
- A pinch of salt
Preparation:
- Wash the apples, peel them and cut them into small cubes.
- Sift the flour through a sieve.
- Separate the whites from the yolks.
- Melt the butter.
- Mix egg yolks, half the sugar, salt and butter. Add flour to the mixture and knead to a tiny dough. Pour milk into the mixture and blend with a blender until smooth.
- Take a baking pan, grease with vegetable oil and line the dough. Put the form in the freezer for 20 minutes.
- Make meringue. To do this, combine the proteins with the remaining sugar to a thick foam and refrigerate.
- Preheat oven to 180 degrees. Remove the dough form from the freezer, put the sliced apples on the dough and send to the preheated oven for 20 minutes.
- Remove the cake, pour the apples with the protein mixture and return to the oven, reducing the temperature to 120 degrees for one hour.
Recipe 7: Meringue Cake with Banana
These roll cakes are cooked in pastry shops in France. There they cost from 3 to 5 euros per thing. Cakes turn out very tasty and tender, and are bought by French women with a bang. We will prepare this dessert where for a smaller amount. Instead of cheese makropone can use any cream unsalted cheese or fat cottage cheese with sour cream.
Ingredients Required:
- Sugar -100 grams
- Sugar powder - 100 grams
- Egg whites - 4 pieces
- Masropone cheese 300 grams
- Banana of medium size 1 piece
- Milk 5 tablespoons
- Ground coffee 2 tablespoons
Preparation:
- Turn the oven on to warm up by setting the temperature to 180 degrees.
- Sift the icing sugar through a sieve.
- Begin to beat the whites, gradually adding the icing sugar and then the sugar.
- Cover the parchment on the baking sheet, grease it with oil. Spread the protein mixture over the parchment and bake in the oven for about 20 minutes.
- While the meringue is baking, we will prepare the filling for pastries - rolls. To do this, peel the banana and turn it into a puree using a blender. Coffee pour hot milk and cover for 5 minutes. Begin to beat the masropone with a mixer, adding a banana to it. Strain the coffee and add the coffee mass to the cheese.
- Take the meringue, remove it from the parchment and cool. Spread cream and roll roll. Put the cake in the fridge for 40 minutes, then remove and cut into portions.
Recipe 8: Almond Meringue Cakes with Orange
Cakes with meringue, which you prepare according to this recipe, come out with a completely unusual taste of almonds and fruits. Made in the form of muffins, they will take you to the sunny Italy when tasting - this country is the birthplace of meringue cakes. It should be noted that in addition to almonds, you can also use hazelnut or cashew. But only almonds give meringue an unusual flavor. Ingredients Required:
- Proteins from fresh eggs 6 pieces
- Sugar powder 300 grams
- Sugar 100 grams
- Medium orange 1 piece
- Orange Peel
- Lemon Peel
- Almonds 100 grams
- A pinch of salt
Preparation:
- Sift icing sugar through a sieve.
- Chop the almonds by passing it through a meat grinder or using a blender.
- Remove the peel from an orange and divide it into slices.
- Beat 4 egg whites with salt at high speed.
- Continuing to beat the whites, gradually add the icing sugar, orange zest and almonds.
- Put the protein mass in cupcake forms, filling them in half.
- In each form stick orange slices.
- Send cakes to be baked in an oven at about 140 degrees for 30 minutes.
- Beat the remaining whites with lemon zest and sugar.
- After half an hour, take the cakes, fill them with protein mass and send them to bake for another 20 minutes.
Serve the cakes completely chilled.
Recipe 9: Cake with meringue cherry
Layer cake, which is based on chocolate shortbread dough, cherry jam and crispy air meringue. By the way, such a cake can be cooked with any jam, but the best is to use thick. For example, besides cherry currant or orange will go, but definitely don’t take strawberry. Before using the jam, squeeze it out of the juice.
Ingredients Required:
- Cherry jam (without stones) 100 grams
- Flour 300 grams
- Butter 100 grams
- Sugar 250 grams
- Egg fresh 2 pieces
- Cocoa 1.5 tablespoon
- Soda, slaked with vinegar 1/2 tsp
Preparation:
- Break the egg, separate the white from the yolk.
- Melt butter.
- Mix the yolks with sugar (take 2/3 of the total sugar), cocoa and butter. Add sifted flour to the mixture through a sieve, soda, mix. The dough should make a crumb.
- Take a baking pan, brush with butter, and line the dough over it.
- Jam press from the juice. Ideally, only cherry berries should remain.
- Put the form with the dough and jam in the oven for 20 minutes at a temperature of 180 degrees.
- Mix the protein and remaining sugar to a thick foam.
- Take out the cake, lay the protein foam on top and bake for another 40 minutes at 120 degrees.
Meringue - secrets and useful tips from the best chefs
- What is better to use, sugar or powdered sugar for making meringue? Most confectioners believe that powdered sugar makes the protein mass more airy and homogeneous than sugar.
- Do not rush to add sugar to the protein foam. It is most correct to beat the meringues in this way. First, beat the whites for about 3 minutes, then add sugar in a thin stream. If you use powdered sugar, then sift it through a sieve. So the proteins will beat up into a more airy mass, as the icing sugar will be saturated with oxygen.
- If the yolk gets into the white, the meringue will not work. Separate the whites from the yolk very carefully.
- There should not even be a drop of liquid in the dishes where you whip proteins, otherwise the proteins will not beat up properly.
- Before making meringue, put the proteins in the fridge for 5-10 minutes. So they will fight much better.
- The meringue will beat up better if you add a pinch of salt or some lemon juice to the whites in the whipping process.
- Cooked dessert should be stored only in a dry place.
